Larry Dumka, Ph.D.

Couple, Family, and Individual Therapy

Our world and circumstances are always changing. To keep a sense of well-being, we have to be able to adapt to these changes. Sometimes, we develop patterns of thinking and acting that no longer fit these changed circumstances. When we get stuck in these patterns the result is distress.

Effective therapy can pinpoint ways of thinking, coping, and relating to others that are no longer working and then identify steps to change these patterns.

Effective therapy gets people to clarify what is really important to them, capitalizes on their strengths, and helps them work around barriers to taking needed steps, barriers like anxiety, avoidance, unworkable expectations, and others’ difficult behavior.

Effective therapy sets people on a path toward greater well-being. Happiness is a good feeling that is temporary. Well-being is more than that. Well-being involves the satisfaction of living a meaningful life, a life in which we act in ways that move us towards being the kind of people we want to become.